RGVT: Ok, Daniel what's this Champs tournament you just won? What is that? For those of us who have no idea.
DB: A champ tournament? Well, there are three different levels of champions in Texas. IIt starts out with the Zats level. (Daniel notices a bewildered look on my face and laughs). The Zats level is like the lowest level in Texas. You need to win a tournament or compile enough points to compete...you need to have at least 65 points to compete at the Champs level. The Champs level is the level that I just won, it's the next level of tennis. It's the same thing, the same stipulations apply...you need to have at least 65 points. I won the tournament, I played good.

RGVT: So, you couldn't just compete in this tournament. You had to win a tournament first before you could even get into this tournament? Is that right?
DB: Yeah, well, win a tournament or accumilate enough points. Like the best way to do it is to win a tournament, because winning a tournament before gives you a lot more confidence going in, I think. And, if you win that (champs) you get into Super Champs. Super Champs is the highest level of tennis in Texas and you start getting ranked in the state. The goal is to try and get that high ranking in the state so that you get good national exposure. It's a good way...let me put it this way, is you win a Super Champ, colleges are going to want you to play for them. That's all they really look at is the Super Champs level. All the colleges...all the admissions people in all divisions they all look at the Super Champs level. Especiall for males.

RGVT: So you're already thinking about college and all that?
DB: Yeah, for sure. I don't know exactly where it is that I want to go yet, but I already know that I am going to want to go to college to play tennis. Hopefully I will get to go on a full scholarship. That's always been my goal to get an education through my tennis.

RGVT: How did you get points? I mean how did you go about getting points for the Champs tournament?
DB: It's four points for the first round, if you win, and then it doubles. It's eight points for winning in the second round and then it
doubles again to sixteen points and for the finals it's thirty two points. After you win the doubles it's 65 points. It actually used to be 64 points but they added one more point because so many people were qualifying just in the accumilation of points. This way you can't just get to a few semi-finals; you have to actually make it to a final.

RGVT: Wow! How tough was that? I mean you were competing against all the top players in the valley or the state?
DB: All around the state. It's not really that hard, it's just consistency. It's all mental. If you stay strong mentally...I mean I played really good. I just stayed strong mentally, and I didn't drop a set. It's just that you've gotta stay strong through the whole thing and not get phased. It's all mental. It's not really hard to win the tournament, but you've just got to....you've gotta play smart. That's the way to get into the Super Champs level. And see, that's the difference between the levels - whether you can keep the ball in play and just work the point instead of just going for winners right off the bat. And at the Super Champs level, that's when you're going to have to be working the points; because there's going to be ten ball rallies. It's going to be more than...I mean there aren't going to be any five balls and the points over. There's going to be much longer rallies and it's going to be a lot more intense. That's pretty much the difference as fas as level-wise. In the Super Champs level you are going to have consistency and it's not just consistency, you are going to have to have a considerable amount of power. Well, at least a good amount and still be able to keep the ball in play with that power. Champs level is pretty much the same thing, but it's a little easier. And then also, it gets a little more complex at the Super Champs level. You have the "A" draw, "B" draw, and "C" draw. And the "C" draw is the lowest one. The "C" draw is basically just a little bit higher than the Champs tournament. If you're going to be in Super Champs, you should win the "C" draw pretty easily and once you win "C" draw you get bumped up to "B" draw and when you win there, of course, you get bumped up to the "A" draw. The "A" draw is the highest level. That's where you want to be. You accumilate more points for winning in "A" draw than you would for say "C" draw. That's just how it works. Of course the person that wins the Super Champs tournament is pretty much considered the best player in Texas. The draw is 256 people, so you are competing against 256 people in that one draw.

RGVT: And all this you're thinking about what college you can get into?
DB: Yeah, because in order to get into a division one school, you're going to have to be in the top category of tennis players in Texas. I mean you want to be in the top 20 or top 30 in Supers, cause that's a pretty high level. And then there are also national tournaments that you can compet in that give you national points. And like the biggest national juniors tournament there is is in the whole nation is called Kalamazoo. Winning it is pretty much the goal of every junior in the United States because it is the biggest juniors tournament in the United States. It's called Kalamazoo, becauase it's held in Kalamazoo, Michigan. That's where all the best players in the nation go to play. And actually, in the "18's" draw of the that tournament, the winner gets a wild card into the U.S. Open

RGVT: Oh, wow!
DB: Yeah. That's at Kalamazoo though and you gotta work pretty hard to get up there. You kind of have to be one of the top players in your state to get up there. And of all the people that register from all the states, there is only 128 people that get picked to play in Kalamazoo.

RGVT: Ok, talk to me about your practice. How much do you practice and how do you practice and all that.
DB: Oh, I practice a good amount of time now. Especially now that it's summer, I have more time to put into my practice. I kind of help Don watch the shop a little bit in the mornings and I practice too. We come back at four oclock and we play matches too and on the days that I am not watching the shop, I am also practicing on those days as well. It's a lot of work; but, of course, you have to work hard if you want to accomplish anything. If you work hard, it's going to pay off eventually. That's how I really won that tournament, because I worked hard with Don every day.

RGVT: And what do you practice on? Anything specific?
DB: Everything. We pretty much practice on everything. Mental aspect...I mean we practice on every aspect of tennis. We work on strength, strokes, agility, jump ropping....I mean, we have the weights part of it...What's really helped me in my game is that....my body's been growing a lot lately...that's what Don keeps telling me. I've just been getting taller and taller and it's been making the game easier and easier for me. I have such a long reach and in tennis that's so much of an advantage. He tells me that I need to take advantage of my reach and my length that I have. People that are really tall should have an advantage. For example on the serve, tall people can get a lot of power. The forearm being longer, you can generate much more power off the ball coming down. I think that's what helped me out too with the tennis. And it's like after I won the Champs tournament, my confidence level went way up and my whole game of tennis just went up to the next level after all that. Your game just goes way up. I believe tennis is mostly mental. Once you learn the basics of tennis and you practice the strokes, it's who executes those strokes best is who's going to win or be better. There's not much more to it than that. You just gotta keep practicing. Everyone's different. Everyone has their different styles of play. I don't believe there is only one way that one should play tennis and everybody has to play that way. That's just not how it really is. Every different junior or kid or person or whatever is going to have their own different style and how they play. So, within their own way of playing, everyone should work hard and practice on what they are doing and want to do. If you work hard and put the time in, it will pay off eventually.

RGVT: Talk to me about the weight lifting. What kind of weight lifting do you do for tennis? What all is involved with that?
DB: It's just basically what any other athelete in any other sport would do. Like the bench press, you got the leg press for your legs, you got biceps curls and work out your triceps with the bars and stuff (mimics barbell triceps extensions). It's great to lift weights, because it really helps you. It really helps your game. It makes the racquet feel lighter and the racquet feeling lighter...if you want to use a metaphor, I liken it almost to like to having a magic wand in your hand sometimes. You can do whatever you want with the ball. It seems so much easier. Obviously if the racquet feels lighter, you are going to be able to swing at the ball easier and have an easier time. If you are stronger, you are going to be able to hit the ball harder. I mean, even if you already have the potential, like everybody does, to hit the ball super hard, it is going to be easier to hit it that hard and you will be able to hit it even harder when you need to. It just makes tennis easier overall. Push ups are good for your stength but that's basic though. Even then, if you don't even count the weights, there are so many things you can do to improve. You can run sprints and lines on the court, which will make you that much faster and able to get to balls easier and even to those you weren't able to ge to before. The jump roping really helps in your agility and the strenght in your legs to be hoping and ready...it really helps your footwork. And, in tennis you want to be agile and fast because it's easier to play the game when you're like that. You have the bench press and all sorts of different machines. Especially at the Valley Baptist Medical Center gym. That's where I go lift weights. It's basically the same...I lift weights the same way any other athelete would. There isn't anything different or special that I do for tennis. I do bench presses for chest and triceps, and I do leg presses for legs and so on. You're just trying to get your body overall stronger.

RGVT: And are there certain body parts that you work out on certain days? Like do you separate the pushing from the pulling muscles and all that?
DB: Yeah, I work out on certain days on certain things in the gym. I mean I don't like to kill my body by overtraining either. If I'm going to be doing...I mean I will be doing upper body separate from lower body. I won't do both on the same day. I don't want to be sluggish on the court with my entire body sore. Eventually, after you do it a lot, you don't really get sore as much. Your body kind of gets used to the workouts and adapts and it just helps out your game. You just have to work through the beginning soreness. So, yeah, lifting weights helps out a lot.

RGVT: Ok, one more question: What do you have to say to everyone that will be reading your interview?
DB: Just that if you want to accomplish great things in your life or whatever, you have to work hard at it. I work hard at it and it has and does pay off eventually.